Travis Scott Takes Penn State To Astroworld
“I fuck with Penn State heavy,” Sheck Wes said when he opened for Travis Scott Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center before starting “Nittany Lions” and “Trace McSorley” chants.
Throughout the set, WEs graced the audience with bangers like “Live Sheck Wes” and Penn State favorite “Mo Bamba.”
The set itself was relatively short, but it did the job to get fans hyped up for what was to come. In true Sheck Wes fashion, he ended his set by shouting, “Middle fingers up if you don’t want to go to class tomorrow.” The crowd went wild and the stands erupted into a sea of middle fingers.
An hour went by before Travis took the stage. He was in no hurry to fill the gap between Sheck Wes’ performance and his own, giving the stage crew ample time to ensure Penn State’s trip to Astroworld would be one to remember.
The BJC floor was divided into two parts for Scott’s performance. One section of the floor was occupied by a large, runway type stage, while the other section featured a noticeably smaller stage dominated by a ring-of-fire-esque roller coaster ride behind it.
Scott kicked off his set with a single from the album Astroworld called “Stargazing” and surprised the audience by starting on the smaller second stage.
Behind him was the rollercoaster, which he rode around on while simultaneously singing “Carousel.” It created the perfect mix between the amusement park feel you’d expect a trip to Astroworld to be like and the hype a Travis Scott concert is bound to bring.
Some students even got the chance to ride the rollercoaster. All the while, Travis kept up his stage performance by belting out songs like “Loose,” “Way Back,” and “Mamacita.” You could tell the crowd was debating whether to get in line or to simply enjoy the show.
Scott called out a security guard for trying to calm a student in the mosh pit, saying, “It’s a rage section, we don’t just watch,” and “I ain’t coming to any other college. You heard me?”
After playing “Way Back,” Scott switched stages and continued the set with “Butterfly Effect.” The lights on and around the stage changed colors with the mood of the song, and giant butterfly wings were displayed on the screen behind him. You felt like you were being transported to another world, which was ultimately Travis Scott’s design.
The fictional dimension of Astroworld comes from an amusement park that Travis used to go to in his home town of Houston, Texas. Drop-down screens surrounded the stage and showed neon images, like Scott’s tour slogan, “wish you were here.” It felt like you were reliving Travis’ own childhood through the visual displays.
Toward the end of the concert, a giant inflatable astronaut rose from the stage floor while Scott sang “Can’t Say.” A second rollercoaster descended from the ceiling and propelled three lucky students back and forth across the crowd as Travis sang “Antidote.”
He closed with crowd favorite “Sicko Mode” and launched $100 bills with his face plastered on them into the air.
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